


Losing All My Cool

by ginnympotter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, F/M, Hogwarts Sixth Year
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:48:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23759389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginnympotter/pseuds/ginnympotter
Summary: Harry and Ginny spend a morning together on the Hogwarts grounds for their first day as a couple after a momentous night of Quidditch and other victories.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 22
Kudos: 149





	Losing All My Cool

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is quite similar to a different one shot of mine, "Reckless, Even," but I just never tire of filling in the blanks from Half-Blood Prince of Harry and Ginny's time together. Just the two of them having fun and getting to be happy together while they still can. Title inspired by Dua Lipa's song "Cool," which I listened to on repeat as inspiration for this :)

Hermione covered her mouth, attempting to hide her laugh as Harry took a sip of his pumpkin juice, determinedly not looking at Ron. “All I’m saying is you got back pretty late last night.”

“And? Gonna deduct some points from him, prefect?” Harry’s heart jumped into his throat at the sound of her voice so suddenly, especially considering Ron was just beginning to pry, causing him to choke on his drink. His face burning, he turned to see Ginny plopping down on the bench, placing one leg on either side of it, facing him. She smiled brightly. “Hey there. Done with breakfast?”

“Hi,“ he replied once he stopped coughing, smiling back. “I-“

Ron interjected. “I could if I wanted to, you know! From the both of you if you don’t-“

“If we don’t _what_?” she asked fiercely. “Hermione wouldn’t even do that.”

Ron snorted. “Of course she would.”

They all looked at her. “Keep me out of this,” she said warningly, though there was a hint of amusement in her voice, as she flipped a page of her Arithmancy book.

“Exactly,” said Ginny triumphantly to Ron. “So mind your business.”

“This _is_ my-“

“Anyway,” she ignored her brother, turning back to Harry. “Ready?”

He stuffed the last bit of his French toast into his mouth and nodded, still avoiding Ron’s gaze.

“Ready for what?” asked Ron, looking at them suspiciously as they stood up from their seats. “Where are you going?”

Ginny groaned, rolling her eyes dramatically. “Didn’t I just tell you to mind your business? Why don’t you continue to bask in the aftermath of the Quidditch Cup win? I know I am.” And with that, she grabbed Harry’s hand and began tugging him away with her.

Hermione could not conceal her laugh again, and Harry waved at both of them, seeing Ron’s ears bright red, feeling some guilt swim in his stomach as he told them, “See you at lunch.”

As he walked with her, she gave him an encouraging squeeze of the hand. As if reading his mind, she said, “I couldn’t help it, he’s too easy. Don’t let him get to you. He’ll be fine.”

“He was just berating me for getting back late last night,” he sighed. “As if he wasn’t doing the same thing with Lavender all last term.”

“I know,” Ginny said as she led them out onto the grounds. “But he didn’t try to kill you in your sleep at least, right?”

“Not that we _know of_ ,” he corrected her. “But I was equally worried about someone else, to be honest,” he muttered, thinking of the look on Dean’s face and the broken glass in his hand at the sight of he and Ginny kissing the night before. He stopped walking now that they were out of sight from the Great Hall and turned to her to give her a real greeting. “Good morning,” he grinned.

She chuckled appreciatively. “Morning,” she responded, and reached up to give him a quick kiss on the lips, sending a little shock wave all the way down to his toes. As if pulled magnetically back to her, he leaned in for more, but she shook her head, tugging his hand again and began marching down the hallway. “Exert some patience.”

Harry coughed, trying to will his legs to move along. “I _have_! Months and months worth of patience,” he told her without thinking.

She looked up at him, quirking an eyebrow. “Months and months?”

His stomach dropped a bit. “Er…perhaps.”

An endearing expression spread across her features. “Noted.”

“So,” he began, eager to shift gears a bit. “We never _did_ get around to discussing the match much yesterday, you know.”

“Well, first things first; the team has called for your resignation next year, with me replacing you as both Seeker and Captain, effective immediately.”

“Is that so?”

“Well, after my spectacular catch, it was a unanimous vote,” she teased. “Although I’d much rather keep my position as Chaser…”

They discussed the match in detail throughout the rest of their walk on the grounds, which Ginny was leading. She recounted each of Ron’s impressive saves, sparing him a few compliments (“But don’t tell him I said that,”) before describing his few glaring misses. She had a few choice words about Cho’s seeking abilities, and the attitude she swears she had given her mid-air.

As she steered them toward the Quidditch pitch, and Ginny continued to paint a picture of Demelza and Katie’s goals, purposely excluding Dean from the narrative, Harry suddenly felt a bit uneasy knowing what he was about to go do with her, and that she was possibly leading him to a spot where she had done the same thing with Dean.

Ginny must have noticed that he was lost in thought, as she was giving him a quizzical look. “Are you okay, Harry?”

He shook it off and squeezed her hand, and her returned pressure helped ease his nerves a bit. It was nice, holding her hand. “Just suspicious as to where you’re taking us.”

She smiled mischievously. “Just winging it.”

Harry continued asking her questions about the match, laughing at her impressions of each team member, until they reached the stands. The sky was the clearest blue, with the sun beaming on them as they sat down together. Ginny let go of Harry’s hand to put her hair up, little drops of sweat dripping down the side of her face. Harry’s eyes moved down towards her midriff, which was exposed as her shirt lifted up a bit with her arms as she tied her hair. Ginny gave him a pointed look.

Harry cleared his throat, looking skyward. “It’s, um, a nice day out.”

She laughed as she brought her arms back down, using her hands to grab Harry by the shoulders, pulling herself closer to him, regaining eye contact. “Pathetic,” she told him. “ _It’s a nice day out?_ You know you can look at my skin and not avert your eyes when I notice, right?”

Harry suddenly felt very hot. “Sorry. I’m used to forcing myself to look away… You got me losing all my cool over here.”

“You had it pretty under control yesterday,” she said, moving one of her hands to the back of his neck, gently running her nails over his skin.

He chuckled, feeling stupid for being nervous, when he had kissed her mere moments ago, and a heavy portion of the day before. But yesterday felt too good to be true, his literal dreams coming to fruition. She moved her other hand to meet its companion behind his neck, pulling his face closer to hers as he said, “That was the exact _opposite_ of having things under control. You think me snogging you in the common room, in front of Ron, no less, was my plan to ask you out?”

“Well, no, but I liked it,” she told him. “I mean, if you hadn’t done it, I probably would’ve. Like if you don’t lean in and snog me right now, I’ll just have to do it myself-“

Harry didn’t need to be told twice. He crushed his lips against hers, with so much force that they almost lost their balance. It was a good thing Harry had quick reflexes, as he wrapped his arms around her waist to bring them back up. She was laughing against his mouth. “ _Merlin_ , Harry.”

He laughed, too. “Told you,” he said quietly against her lips before reconnecting them, this time steady and purposeful.

And just like the day before, Harry felt as though he was in one of his dreams. However, it was far better, as he could actually feel the softness of her skin, the smoothness of her hair. He moved his hands, one to run through the top of her hair, the other to cup her face, holding her jaw as he deepened the kiss, much to her welcoming.

Ginny returned every move in favor. He knew she was being generous, allowing him to be the one to lead, but eventually, she must have grown impatient, as she tore her mouth away briefly and climbed onto his lap, straddling him, each knee upon the bench on either side of him. Harry suddenly felt both intimidated and excited; he loved how Ginny easily took command, but wanted to impress her, too.

The new seating arrangement helped tremendously in a lot of ways, but mainly it brought their faces level with one another, as their height difference had been causing each of them to crane their necks a bit much. Ginny threw Harry a wicked smile before reattaching her lips to his, this time holding _his_ face in her hands and took control of the kiss, slowing it down, teasing, giving in for a brief moment, then teasing again. Harry groaned in a mixture of frustration and arousal from her method, but she seemed to take this as further encouragement. These were not the eager, heavy snogs of the day before, but he really couldn’t complain much.

Just as Harry was getting acclimated to this, she moved her hands to his shoulders and her lips left his and began to travel. First to his cheek, then over to his ear, where she gently blew hot air, and Harry suddenly felt a bit too aware that Ginny was straddling his lap. This awareness only heightened as she moved to his neck, using her lips and teeth and tongue to _do_ things to him that made him feel as if his senses were going to leave him entirely. He grasped at Ginny’s sides to steady himself, and after a few moments realized that her hands were working on the buttons of his shirt, and had already successfully undone two of them.

“Ginny,” he tried to say strongly, but it came out a more like a whimper. All she did was move her mouth back to his as she continued to work on the third button.

She had opened it when he willed himself to pull away from her. “Ginny,” he tried again, grabbing her hands with one of his own.

She looked at him, eyes dilated and cheeks flushed. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” he told her, trying to smile but not sure if the muscles in his face were quite capable. “I just…I just realized how much more experienced you are than me at all this,” he said truthfully.

Ginny seemed momentarily taken aback by such honesty, but then grinned compassionately. “That’s okay. You’re a fast learner.”

Harry chuckled, raising one of her hands to kiss. “You’re far too kind.”

“I mean, would I like it if you showed a little less restraint? Sure, but take your time.”

He looked at her in wonderment, feeling a warmth spread throughout him as he soaked in her knowing smirk. “I’m just trying to be a gentleman. And like I said, you know what you’re doing more than I do-“

“You know what you’re doing,” she assured him sweetly. “ _Trust_ me, you do. But you don’t have to be a gentleman. We don’t have to do anything either of us doesn’t want to, of course. However, I give you full consent to touch me wherever, take off whatever-“

Harry choked. “Ginny, we’re out in the open! I’m not going to…to...disrobe you when anyone can walk by!” he whispered.

Ginny laughed heartily. “Oh, so _that’s_ why you got all tense when I started to open your shirt. You’ve got nothing to worry about, unless there’s a practice scheduled, no one comes out to the pitch before lunch.”

“How do you know that?” Harry asked, trying to sound casual but obviously failing to hide his suspicions by Ginny’s roll of her eyes.

“Because I used to come at this time every Sunday to practice flying before I tried out for the team last year,” she explained, scoffing at the relief on Harry’s face. “I wasn’t going to take it _off_ necessarily. Just thought I’d get a nice peek, if that’s okay.”

He nodded a bit too fast, making him dizzier than he already was. “It’s definitely okay-“

“And you can do the same, you know,” she told him as she released her hands from Harry’s grasp to continue her work on his buttons. 

“Much appreciated,” he laughed, closing his eyes as she kissed him lazily. Once she undid the last button, Harry felt jolted as her small, soft hands began to move gently over his bare chest, sending chills up his spine. She stopped kissing him, and he opened his eyes to see her surveying him. After a few moments, she looked back up at him. “Not bad, Captain,” she said, smothering Harry’s chuckle with her mouth.

Harry eventually allowed himself to follow Ginny’s lead of leaving inhibitions behind; he was finally living out months’ worth of fantasies, and why should he deprive himself of such a glorious reality? He let his hands wander down her back, settling gently at first, then, with Ginny’s groans of approval and encouragement, more firmly under her bum. He tried a bit of the neck kissing himself, and felt rather proud of himself by Ginny’s breathy reaction.

Some time passed, and they finally began to slow down a bit. Neither Harry nor Ginny wanted to pull away, anytime one of them attempted, the other pulling them back in for a bit more convincing. It was not until they both released the other, breathing heavily, foreheads against each other that they resigned to a break of some sort. Both giggly and sweaty from the sun beating down on them, Ginny reluctantly removed herself from Harry, sitting beside him instead. But Harry did not want to lose contact just yet, so he swiveled her to face him, and grabbed her legs so that they were draped over his lap. Rubbing her thigh with one hand, Harry used the other to hook a finger under her chin and kiss her shortly one more time.

“Hmm,” she sighed as they parted. “Hello.”

Harry smiled widely. “Hi.”

Ginny lied flat across the bench, soaking in the sun. “That was fun,” she told him. “Let’s do it again sometime.”

Harry snorted at her, leaning back a bit and resting his head on the edge of the bench above them. He exhaled deeply, feeling a wave from his heart to the tips of his fingers and toes. It was strange, feeling this content and relaxed. It almost felt as if he were a different person, living a regular life. He continued to run his hand gently along her thigh, bringing the other one behind his head for some cushioning and closed his eyes, enjoying the light breeze.

After a few peaceful minutes, he felt Ginny lift herself up. “Harry,” she said softly.

“Yeah?” he answered, still trying to cool himself down, thinking of innocuous objects.

“Wanna go for a fly around the pitch?” He opened his eyes to see her taking her wand out of her belt loop. “I can summon our brooms.”

“They’re in Gryffindor tower, Gin-“

“Or you can do it yourself if you’d like, like you did in the Triwizard Tournament. Might not impress me as much this time, though…”

Harry rolled his eyes. “You really are up to flying right now? Don’t you need a bit of a break?”

“Too much excitement for you, ay?” she suggested, giving him a quick beneath-the-belt glance, where said excitement was still protruding a bit. “I forgot that men have a longer refractory period than women do.”

Harry sat up, choking at her words. “We didn’t even _do_ anything-“

“I’ll just do it myself,” she took her legs off of Harry’s and stood up, twirled her wand through her fingers. “No pun intended,” she winked. She then pointed in the general direction of the tower and declared, “ _Accio Firebolt and Cleansweep!”_

“You,” started Harry, as he got to his feet and put his hands on her hips, “think you’re a real laugh, don’t you?”

“And I am,” she smiled, leaning in and placing a light peck on his lips. She then began to help Harry re-button his shirt. “You can always hang out for a bit and watch _me_ fly till you feel ready, although, that may just excite you more-“

“You raise a valid point,” he admitted as he finished the last two buttons himself. “Let’s fly. We can have a race.”

“A challenge?” she pondered. They could hear their brooms zooming towards them. They turned, and Harry saw his Firebolt growing nearer and nearer. He reached out his hand, ready to grasp it.

But Ginny was too fast for him, catching his broom in one hand, hers in the other. She examined each of them for a moment, and then thrust her Cleansweep against Harry’s chest. He caught it, looking at her curiously.

“You’d outfly anyone with this broom,” she stated, holding Harry’s Firebolt in both hands now. “Give me a try on it, and then we’ll see if it’s the broom or the player. Deal?”

Harry laughed as Ginny didn’t even wait for his agreement, mounting the Firebolt and rising into the air. “You’re on.”

They both beat each other on the Firebolt, but Ginny came in a much closer second on the Cleansweep than Harry had. Once back on their own brooms, they played multiple rounds of one on one, and although Harry put up a good fight, Ginny wiped the floor with him; and she was right, it _did_ excite him in one too many ways.

About an hour and a half later, they called it for the day. Harry had an idea to make a pit stop by the lake and put their feet in to cool off. They sat down and took their shoes and socks off, dipping their toes in. “Shit, that’s cold,” Harry exclaimed.

Ginny scoffed at him, leaning back on her hands as she kicked her feet in the water towards Harry, splashing him a bit. “Don’t be such a baby. Didn’t you swim in this thing for like, what, an hour and a half for the second task?”

“Yeah, but I had gills, so the water felt warm,” he explained, submerging his feet in more.

“I was so worried about you,” she confessed unabashedly. “You were in there for so long.”

Harry put a hand on hers and squeezed. “Made it out alive, didn’t I?”

“Don’t you always?” she quipped back. “I was so jealous of Ron,” she laughed, and at Harry’s raised eyebrow she went on, “because he was the thing you’d miss the most.”

“Yeah, well…”

“It was sweet, though. Sweeter than Krum’s being Hermione, anyway.”

“I mean, what else were they going to use…his fur coat?” he mused.

Ginny giggled, shaking her head. “If it were Ron, who’d you reckon they’d take: you or Hermione?”

“Not sure,” Harry shrugged, mulling it over. “A couple of months ago I would have said me, but you know, they’ve been getting on a little too well these days. It’s suspicious.”

“I don’t know what they’re waiting for,” Ginny told him. “Honestly, they’re obsessed with each other. I can’t believe that you and I got together before _they_ did.”

“Me too-“ and then it dawned on him. He rounded on Ginny. “Wait a second. You’re kind of to blame for that one!”

Ginny look appalled. “ _Excuse_ me?”

“They were _going_ to, last term! Hermione asked Ron to go with her to Slughorn’s Christmas party, and they were going to-“

“They were?” she asked in amazement. “I didn’t know that!”

“Yes, until…well, until you told him that she had snogged Krum.”

Ginny was bewildered. “I’m sorry, I don’t get the connection.”

“It just drove Ron mad,” he explained. “It was like a delayed betrayal-“

“But how did he _not_ know that already?” Ginny questioned, outraged. “Wasn’t it obvious?”

“Well, I thought so,” muttered Harry. “But Ron’s a prat.”

“You said it, not me.”

Harry laughed, running a hand through his hair. “Anyway, then he was cross with her over nothing, and Lavender was not being subtle anymore, and just everything accumulated into him snogging her to get back at Hermione or something, but also…”

“To prove me wrong?” she finished for him. “His picture of Auntie Muriel too soggy at that point?”

Harry snorted. “I guess.”

“It’s not my fault he couldn’t handle the truth,” shrugged Ginny. “In any event, I think I did them both a favor.”

“How do you work that one out?”

“Well, now Hermione won’t have to teach him how to snog, hopefully, if either of them ever grows the bullocks to make a move. She teaches him enough as it is.”

“Alright, so maybe you did do them a favor,” Harry said. “But what about me? I was the one who had to deal with the repercussions!”

Ginny grabbed him by the chin and brought his face close to hers. “I’m sure I can make it up to you.”

He smiled as she dragged his lips to hers, and just as he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, Ginny tore herself away and kicked the water toward him, splashing Harry in the face.

Ginny laughed as he choked on the water. She hit him on the back compassionately. “You good?”

Once Harry was able to breathe again, he turned on her. “You’re going to pay for-“

But she was ready. She pushed him into the lake. He could hear her laughing from under the water, but he did not dare emerge. He stayed under, close to the edge, until he heard a tiniest note of concern in her voice as she called out, “Harry?”

That’s when he popped up, grabbed her by her calves, and threw her in too.

The look in her eye was deadly when she stood up, letting her hair loose. “Oops?” he said, horribly feigning innocence.

But Harry couldn’t help but notice the way her wet shirt clung to her…and Ginny smartly took this as her opportunity to attack. She jumped on top of him, initiating a wrestling match, which eventually turned into a _different_ and more enjoyable kind of wrestling match, until Ginny had the innovative idea to ride their brooms over the lake while skimming the water, engaging in a water-tag match.

It wasn’t until the Giant Squid unsuspectingly stretched out, accidentally whacking them with one of its tentacles, that their rumbling stomachs called attention to the time and they decided to call it.

It was still rather hot out, so as the sun warmed them up on their walk back up to the castle, they barely noticed how much water was dripping from them as they reentered the Great Hall, Harry’s arm around Ginny’s shoulders, hers around his waist, their free hands holding their brooms.

“ _Why,”_ Ron started as soon as they reached the table, where Ron and Hermione were filling up their plates for lunch, “the hell are you two sopping wet?”

Harry removed his arm from Ginny, took out his wand and muttered drying spell towards Ginny, then on himself. “Had an incident with the Giant Squid. No biggie,” answered Ginny as she sat down. “I’m starved. Pass the roast beef, Ron?”

Steaming, Ron passed her the platter. Harry sat down next to her and reluctantly looked at him. He could see Hermione from the corner of his eye shaking her head while looking at Ron, clearly exhausted by his behavior in the hours they’d been separated from them. “Just…just clarify something for me. Are you two dating? Or just…you know…”

The sentence hung in the air until Ginny chimed in. “Snogging in bodies of water? Can’t the two simultaneously be true?”

Feeling mortified, Harry reached for the water jug to fill up his cup as Ron questioned, “So you are dating, then?”

Harry mustered up the courage to look him in the eye and answered. “Yes. I, er, asked her to be my girlfriend last night.”

“And I said I’d think about it,” Ginny joked as she put a hand on his thigh beneath the table, squeezing it reassuringly.

“Well, I think it’s wonderful,” Hermione interjected, smiling widely. “And so does Ron, even if he won’t admit it.”

There was a long pause, an elongated sigh, and then, “Well, I suppose,” Ron conceded. “You’re better than Dean or that git Michael Corner, anyway.”

“Appreciated, mate,” Harry laughed, the monster in his chest purring with satisfaction as he filled up his plate, Ginny beside him.


End file.
